They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away

The following is a transcript of one of Deb's Calls to Worship featured on the podcast player that you can find in the left side bar:

We're going to be talking about heaven today. And I have a scripture for you from Isaiah, and it kind of gives a description of heaven. It's from Isaiah 35.

And a highway shall be there, ...,
and it shall be called the Holy Way.
The unclean shall not pass over it,
And fools shall not err therein.
No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come upon it;
they shall not be found there.
But the redeemed shall walk there,
and the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
and come to Zion with singing,
with everlasting joy upon their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
(Isaiah 35:8-10)

Let's pray.

Thank You LORD. Thank you for this promise of heaven. We have that hope.
We all have lots of folks we're going to see when we get there; that we miss. Because they are not here anymore, and we now they are waiting. And we know that they get to see You, and they get to be with You, and someday we will too.

But right now we are happy for the rain and we are happy for the sunshine, and we are just going to make a decision, make a choice, to be joyful.

We love you, Jesus, and now we are going to come and try to give you praise, sacrifice of praise. Some of it will be happy and boisterous, and some of it will be quiet and introspective. But all of it is done for You, Lord Jesus.

We love You.

Amen

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Dear Ones,

This passage from Isaiah 35 reminds that there is Joy in the journey, no matter the trials and suffering. The anointed encouragement ministry of Deb's friends Nancy and Greg Eckel at the Optical Joy web site, born out of their own cancer journey and suffering, has encouraged Deb and Tom during this tremendously painful time. Please visit Optical Joy if you need encouragement and a reminder of the Joy of the redeemed and the Boundless Love of God regardless of any circumstance.

May God Always be Praised and Glorified!

Deb Smith Calls You to Worship

The podcast player in the left side bar of this blog now features Deb ministering in seven inspiring recorded Calls to Worship from Grace Community Church in Mt Vernon, IL, (thanks to Jeff Crow, Mindy McWilliams, and Dave Fields). They will bring you into God's presence and make you weep in awe of Deb's deep love for Jesus. They will also challenge you to go deeper, worship more fervently, and Live in the Truth of His Great Love. Find one and click to listen.

In an early comment on Loving Deb Smith, Gary Sweeten noted the following:

"I hope you all have a photo of Deb leading worship at Grace Church in Mt. Vernon. She would take the big, cumbersome Altar Bible that weighed at least 20 pounds and hold it in both hands as she led a meditation and call to worship. The picture of her standing there on the dais with that big Bible, smiling and weaving an incredible story around God's love and grace will remain with me for ages. Her words were always penetrating and creative just like Deb's mind and heart. She set the stage for us to worship God in Spirit and truth for her childlike heart overflowed into praise and thanksgiving and inspired us as well with her faith.

If anyone has a picture of Deb like the one Gary described, please pass it on to Loving Deb Smith. The music on the podcast player is designed to encourage Deb and you, strengthen your faith and hope, build you up in love, and reach out to those who are seeking the Truth, the Way, and the Life.

All Praise and Honor to the Lamb!

My soul stays close to you. Your right hand holds me up.

Psalm 63:1-8

1 God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you, My flesh longs for you, In a dry and weary land, where there is no water.
2 So I have seen you in the sanctuary, Watching your power and your glory.
3 Because your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise you.
4 So I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food. My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips,
6 When I remember you on my bed, And think about you in the night watches.
7 For you have been my help. I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.
8 My soul stays close to you. Your right hand holds me up.
(World English Bible)

God, you indeed are our hope and we long for you. Together we thirst for you with our sister, Deb. Together with her we lift up our hands to praise you with our lips. You have been Deb's help, and your right hand holds her up. Glory to You!

Loving Deb Smith in Music

There is now a podcast player here on Loving Deb Smith. The intention here is to provide Deb with the opportunity to hear music she loves that has been lovingly prepared by brothers and sisters who love her. Also, this is a way to share any recordings of Deb speaking, singing, calling the Body to worship, etc. So if you can help in this effort, please send an e-mail with .mp3 formatted material attached. The more material you offer, the more joy for Deb in God's healing presence.

To listen to the material already provided in this podcast, just click on the play button. To subscribe to an RSS feed of the podcast, click on the Subscribe Free link beneath the podcast player.

Resting in God

Deb Smith's friends and the readers of Loving Deb Smith know that she is a gifted artist and teacher at Frontier Community College. Among her treasured paintings is this one, about which she wrote:

Resting in God

An angel hovers near to God's warmth

The three small yellow dots represent the Trinity

The scarlet orb represents the fiery warmth and energy of God

We can't get too close, or we're consumed.

Our existence lies within the warm, pinkish mist ..

Close to Him.

Thank you, Deb.

If you have images of Deb's work and are interested in sharing them, you may forward them to Loving Deb Smith via e-mail so that others will be blessed.

Peace and All Good!

PowerPoint Love!

Paula Clouse, a friend of Deb & Tom's who is involved with missions at Grace Community Church, forwarded the following cool PowerPoint slide along with an explanatory note. It asks folks to visit Loving Deb Smith. Perhaps this effort will inspire others like it. If anyone wants to use this slide themselves, please e-mail Loving Deb Smith, to receive a modified version that includes a bit of explanation about Deb's illness and asks folks to check out this blog for ways they can help Deb, Tom, and the family. Thanks so much, Paula.

I submit to you the attached slide. I created it for our morning worship service...the dance team is going to minister during the call to worship, we thought it'd be an appropriate time for a word about Deb. She was always very supportive of those seeking to artistically worship.

Blessings,
Paula